Chris Farren Reflects On 25 Years Of Combustion Music [Interview]

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Chris Farren.

When Chris Farren launched Combustion Music, he was simply chasing the spark that comes from discovering great songs and the people who write them. Nearly 25 years later, the company has become one of Nashville’s longest-running independent powerhouses, responsible for more than 110 No. 1 hits and a reputation built on loyalty, taste and creative instinct.

Before Combustion, Farren had his own successful career. A singer-songwriter and producer by trade, he came up through Los Angeles, writing and performing for film, TV and jingles before making the move to Nashville. Once here, he hit his stride, producing Deana Carter’s Did I Shave My Legs for This?, earning nine No. 1 singles as a writer and a long list of cuts as a songwriter. Those years gave him what he now calls “the mind of a writer,” an empathy that later shaped his approach as a publisher.

That perspective is equal parts creator and mentor, and has been woven through Combustion’s DNA. From the early days, Farren has built a roster defined by longevity as much as chart success. Farren founded Combustion in 2001 after what he describes as a full and rewarding creative run.

“I had had a successful songwriting and producing career, but I was looking to do something a little different to expand my horizons and to allow myself to have a lot more soldiers out there with songs besides just the ones I was writing,” Farren tells MusicRow. “I found that I had a pretty good instinct for picking talent by some of the decisions I made early on. It was just a way for me to kind of round out my career and explore something that I thought I’d be good at.”

He knew he couldn’t compete with the budgets of larger publishers, so he built his business around potential. “It was kind of destiny. I was going to sign young writers, unproven writers and sweat equity to teach them as much as I could and give them as many opportunities as I could.”

That philosophy paid off. The company’s first signing was Jeffrey Steele, followed soon after by soon-to-be mega-hitmaker Ashley Gorley and Kings of Leon. Those early successes gave Farren “the momentum and the confidence to reinvest and keep going.”

From the start, the model was rooted in instinct and mentorship. Farren leaned on his own experience as a songwriter to identify writers whose insight and maturity were, as he puts it, “beyond their actual ability.”

“More than just how talented they are, I look for a certain kind of mentality where they understand what it takes to become a hit songwriter,” he says. “Sometimes you’ll meet somebody even when the songs aren’t great yet, but you can understand the method and the process of them understanding what it takes for these songs to become great.”

Combustion’s structure also includes recurring catalog sales, something that sets it apart from most publishing companies. “About every five years, we do a catalog sale of our songs from the previous five years,” Farren explains. “If we’ve done our job right, we’ve found that typically around year four we start to see significant earnings, and by year five or six, it’s time to reload and start over.”

The rhythm keeps his team motivated. “It keeps me and my team on our toes: focused, driven and ambitious,” he says. “Everybody participates in the profit. We kind of delay our gratification. The better we all do, the more we all earn. We were willing to invest in ourselves and bet on ourselves. After you do it successfully the first time, you start to believe in yourself and it doesn’t feel quite as risky the second time.”

Looking ahead to Combustion’s 25th anniversary with more than 110 No. 1 songs to its name, Combustion has become a force in Nashville. “We always joke that we’re small but powerful,” he says. “We’re quietly getting things done and helping make music that matters in Nashville, and developing lots of great new songwriters and artists that we can really look to with pride.”

That pride extends to the culture within the company itself. “It’s a great team. It’s manageable and it feels really hands-on. We see the writers a lot and talk to them a lot. Hopefully, for the most part, they’re happy,” he adds with a laugh.

“I’m very proud of Combustion, but it’s almost like my second career,” he says. “I started in this business on the creative side and kind of evolved to the business side, but still, first and foremost, I consider myself a creative.”

As Combustion moves into its next chapter, that core remains steady. Whether working with veteran hitmakers or new voices finding their footing, the goal is simply to keep making music that matters.

Lauryn Sink
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